Steadfast, Immovable, Abounding

This is the seventh installment in my series of posts on Jesus’ disciples.

“Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?’ And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”

Matthew 26:14-16

I’ll be honest: it’s hard to know what to say about this disciple. He certainly can’t be pointed to as a role model of what it means to follow Christ. For two thousand years, it has been Judas at whom we shake our heads, wondering how someone could be so close to Jesus yet so far from Him. So perhaps, though we do not want to become like him, Judas’ life can teach us a hard lesson—close proximity to the things of Christ means nothing if our hearts do not bow before Him.

There are many of us who have never known a time when we have not lived in a faith environment. We have known the gospel longer than we have known our ABCs, and the traditions of Christianity have become habitual parts of our lives. While this is an incredible blessing, it can lead to a dangerously false sense of security. We trust in the norms of our cultural Christianity to save us. But if Judas teaches us anything, it’s that simply doing all the things Jesus-followers do proves nothing about our relationship with Him. Going to church, reading the Bible, singing songs about Jesus, and even leading in ministry can all be done by a person who is spiritually dead. Peter writes, “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). Judas is the heartbreaking representation of someone who knows all about Jesus, surrounds himself with His followers, and completes the checklist of a cultural Christian, but never places Christ on the throne of his heart and life.

Judas probably didn’t doubt his commitment to Christ. After all, hadn’t he left his old life behind just to follow the Messiah? He had joined Him in His ministry and suffered the same hardships as everybody else. But once the idea of betraying Jesus entered his mind, Judas’ response makes it obvious that while his outward appearance may have changed, his heart was just the same as before. We all come to a point in our lives where the value of our faith is tested, and we found out how committed we really are to the Lord. For those of us who have grown up in a Christian environment, that moment comes when we own our faith and call Jesus our Lord—not because that’s what we were taught, but because we know Him personally and have His Spirit living within us. The two verses preceding the ones quoted above from 1 Peter say: “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In John 14:2-5, we read, “During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” Jesus’ actions in this moment are incomprehensible. The One who was there before time stooped to wipe the feet of those who called Him Master—but more than that, He washed the feet of the one who would give up his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus is always waiting and always ready to accept another lost sheep into His fold. Luke 15:7 says there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. We don’t serve a volatile God who needs to be appeased; we serve a righteous God who is willing to cleanse.

Remember: Judas’ betrayal was a part of God’s plan. The Lord does not need you to obey Him. But would you rather God’s will happen through you, or in spite of you? Judas was never without a choice. So today, I challenge you to examine yourself. It’s not enough to live in the presence of Christianity, we must live in the presence of Christ. It’s not enough to fulfill the spiritual checklist, we must make our heart His home. It’s not enough to believe because of our faith background, we must believe because God has cleansed our souls.

“You will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.”

C. S. Lewis